Portobello Mushroom Burger and Four Bean Salad

Portobello Mushroom Burger

This burger was delicious!!!

 

Ingredients:

*Hamburger buns of your choice.( I used potato buns because they are Jake's favorite. )

*Two Large Portobello mushrooms (Or however many you want to make)

*Half of a sweet onion cut into thick slices

*One slice of a tomato for each burger

*A small handfull of fresh spinach for each burger

*A few slices of avacado for each burger

*One table spoon of minced garlic

*Two table spoons of olive oil

 

*OPTIONAL:

*One slice of grilled eggplant for each burger (If making this again, I would have omitted the eggplant as it was mushy.)

*Your favorite condiments. I used my own recipe for spicy Veganaise. Jake used mustard.

 

1)Preheat your grill on medium-medium high heat. (About 400 degrees is what I used.)

 

2) Cut all of the vegetables above so they are ready for the burger and/or grill. (Obviously do not cut the mushrooms.)

 

3) Mix the minced garlic and olive oil together. Brush on each side of the portobello mushrooms before putting them on the grill.

 

4) Put your sliced onions on at this time as well. I used a grill pan for the onions.

 

5) Check the Mushrooms every so often, but grill for at least 5 minutes on each side. Your cooking time may vary according to your grill. You want nice grill marks on the top side of the mushroom, but you don't want your mushrooms to be burnt.

 

6) Grill the onions for about 5 minutes on each side as well.

 

7) When you flip the mushrooms and onions add your buns to the grill. Make sure you don't burn them and flip them after about 2 minutes.

 

 

8) Now Make your burgers!

 

I layered the ingredients like this: spinach, tomato, mushroom, grilled eggplant (if using), avacado, onion, condiment of choice, and top of the bun. ENJOY!

 

 

Need an easy side to go with your burger, or a healthy salad to enjoy all week? Try making this salad! This makes a HUGE bowl of bean salad which would be perfect to bring to a party. You can cut the ingredients in half if you don't want to make as much.

 

Four Bean and Edamame Salad

You'll need:

*A can of pinto beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. (drained and rinsed)

*A 12 ounch bag of shelled frozen edamame, thawed

*One half of a sweet onion, diced

*One large red pepper, diced

1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon of agave nectar

1 teaspoon of hot sauce

1/8 teasspoon of cayenne pepper

1/8 tea spoon of salt (or more according to taste)

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

1 table spoon of minced garlic

Mix all ingredients together. Let sit overnight in the fridge to allow the ingredients to marinate together. This is one of Jake's favorite salads!

So What Do You Eat???

I get this question ALL time time. So I thought I'd give some examples of what I eat on an ordinary day in my life.

Breakfast:
* Oatmeal with Vega nutritional protein powder.
AND
*Black ice coffee with almond milk
or
*Protein shake with a banana or berries
AND
*Black ice coffee with almond milk
or
*toast and peanut or almond butter with banana
AND
*Black ice coffee with almond milk



Snacks:
*almonds
or
*hummus with raw veggies
or
*edamame
or
*apple


Lunch:
*Any one of the meals I have made on this blog. (Hello leftovers. :) )
or
*veggie sandwich or tofurky wrap
or
*veggie salad with edamame and/or black beans and balsamic vinegar
or
*vegan soup (black bean, lentil, veggie, etc..)
or
*Mock chicken salad, quinoa salad, mock egg salad, or tofu salad (All of these salads are from Earth Origins by Lowe's in Port Charlotte)

Snacks:
*almonds
or
*apple with peanut or almond butter

After working out:
*VEGA chocolate sport protein shake with water.

Dinner:

*Marinated baked Tofu (buffalo, bbq, etc..) with roasted or grilled veggies
*spaghetti squash with veggies, tofu or lentils, and veggies
*regular spaghetti with veggies
*veggie tacos
*taco salad
*burrito with beans, rice, and veggies
*veggie stir fry with tofu or edamame
*veggie chili
*veggie pizza without cheese
*Vegan Lasagna
*Stuffed Squash
*Stuffed mushroom
*veggie and tofu kabobs
*veggie burger
....I could seriously go on forever but I'm going to stop now!!



If I wanted to...I COULD also eat:

*Potato chips
*oreos
*soy or coconut milk ice cream
*chocolate chip teddy grahams (yes, they are vegan!!!)
*most pretzels
*most of the "Back to Nature" cookies
*popcorn
*bagel (a lot of bagels and breads are actually vegan)
*tortilla chips and salsa or guacamole.


When I'm out to eat I will be honest and say it CAN get tricky, but I can find something vegan at pretty much EVERY restaurant. There might not be many options, but the options they do have are usually a lot healthier than if you were eating something non-vegan.

*Jason's Deli: Salad bar or veggie sandwich without cheese and vegetarian soups without cheese

*Moes or Tijuana Flats: veggie burrito with rice, beans, veggies, and tofu (if available). OR veggie salad

*Outback Steakhouse: Veggie Trio without butter (I usually pick two of the veggies and a plain
baked potato) AND I get a side salad with their tangy tomato dressing. YUM.

*Ruby Tuesday: Veggie trio without butter and their salad bar.

*Subway and/or Obees: Salad or Sub on white bread with veggies and mustard

*Panera Bread: Vegetarian Sandwich without cheese and a salad or black bean soup.

Lentil and Quinoa Veggie Soup

 

 

 

Wow, I haven't posted since the beginning of the school year. I have been super busy with work and other things that I have been neglecting my blog. I am going to try to post more regulary now. Yesterday I watched a documentary on Netflix called, "Vegucated."  Watching the documentary completely reaffirmed why I believe that eating vegan is the right thing for ME. Sometimes I feel that people just don't "get" why I am eating vegan and it can get very frustrating. I am the only person in my entire circle of  friends, family, and  co-workers that does not eat ANY animal products. Most people are very understanding, but I've actually had some people be very rude about it (unknowingly or not). I wish I could  "vegucate" others on the health benefits of a vegan diet,  how easy eating vegan really is, how it helps our Earth, and how it helps animals. I don't expect people to change because of me. I'd like people to make their own assumptions and eat how they feel is right for them, but with this blog my hope is to at least show people that EATING vegan is NOT a challenge!!!

 

Anyways, that was my little blurp for the day. Here is the recipe I intended on sharing. :)

 

Today it was super chilly out (Hey, 65 is chilly for us folks here in Florida!)  and I wanted something to warm us up a bit. I decided a slow cooker soup was an easy way to make dinner on my cold day off. :)  I really get more done when we have three day weekends.

This soup is so delicious and easy to make!

 

Ingredients:

1 quart container of organic vegetable broth

1 cup of lentils (I used white lentils and red lentils)

3/4 cup of quinoa (I used white quinoa and red quinoa)

24 oz jar of Bertolli's tomato and basil marinara sauce

2-3 cups of water (This depends on how much liquid you want. I would start with two cups and if you need more liquid you can always add more water)

16 oz  of fresh sliced  mushrooms (I used button and baby bella. This was two 8 oz containers)

1 large carrot, diced

1 large onion, diced

One 5 oz package of fresh spinach

3 cloves of garlic, minced

 

Pour the ingredients above in a large slow cooker and let it cook on high for about 6-7 hours.

 

Voila! It is THAT easy!

 

You could make some garlic bread to go with it if you wanted, but Jake and I didn't think we needed anything else. :)

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrumptious Vegan Tacos

Picture and recipe by: Callen Rhoads

I came home today and was seriously tired after school and working out.  I did one of the “insanity” workouts with some girls from work and it seriously kicked my butt! When I got home I was super hungry and so was Jake. I didn’t feel like making anything that I had planned on making AND I wanted something with a lot of protein… I looked into my pantry and found Taco shells and decided that tacos it was!  I literally just threw this recipe together as I was making dinner and used what I had in my pantry and fridge. The recipe turned out AMAZING! Before completing dinner, Jake wasn’t too thrilled with me using tofu “hamburger” crumbles, but he was actually VERY pleased with how good everything was. He ended up eating four tacos….and some of the left over filling by itself. J

For this recipe I decided I would try tacos with rice in them and it was actually really filling and scrumptious!

**For this recipe you can make whatever rice you’d like. I suggest staying away from the parboiled stuff. To me, it takes icky and I don’t know if it would taste very good in this recipe. I used white Jasmine rice, but you could use a wild rice if you wanted something more nutty.

***On another note, for those of you with kids...you could easily lower (or omit) the cayenne and red pepper flakes and even take out the black beans. The kids won't even notice the difference in the "hamburger" crumbles. It's that good! (I fooled Jake with it the first time I made it!!...ha ha!)

(This recipe makes 4-6 nice sized servings…depending on how much you eat!)

Ingredients:

1 cup of white jasmine rice

2  cups of vegetable broth for rice (or you can use water)

¼ cup vegetable broth for taco filling

Taco shells of your choice

1TBS of olive oil or coconut oil

1 cubanella  OR green bell pepper (diced)

1 large sweet onion, diced and divided in half

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of vegetarian refried beans (I used Taco bell, and it’s actually vegan!)

8oz of diced tomatoes (I had to use canned because we were out of fresh tomatoes at the house! Ah!!!)

½ package of Marjon Vegetarian (actually vegan) tofu hamburger crumbles

SPICES

(Could use vegan taco seasoning if you didn’t want to make your own seasoning):

½-1 TBS of cayenne pepper
1/2- 1 TBS of Cumin
2         TBS of minced garlic
1/2 TBS of garlic powder
1-2 TBS of chili powder

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes

Optional

Spinach or other lettuce

Diced tomato (or some left over from the can you opened)

Taco bell hot sauce (Jake used this, I however didn’t think it needed it.)

Directions:

First, make the rice according to the package directions. I used 1 cup of the white jasmine rice and 2 cups of vegetable broth instead of water to give it some flavor. I cooked mine in the microwave to save on time, but if you aren’t in a rush you could make it on the stove.

Next, add the olive oil to a large pan.  Sauté  half the onions and  all the bell pepper on medium high heat. Once the onions and peppers are softened and lightly browned on the edges add the hamburger crumbles. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add all the spices. Taste as you go along so you don’t add too much or too little for your taste.  Then add the can of black beans.  Now, slowly add a couple spoonfuls of refried beans at a time until the entire can has been emptied into the pan. Add vegetable broth (or water) as needed to help the refried beans mix with the other ingredients. Finally, add the tomatoes to your mixture.  (Add salt and pepper as needed)

Fill  your tacos with rice first, then your taco filling, fresh lettuce or spinach (if using), and finally with the fresh diced onions and some left over tomato.

Voila! Enjoy!

xoxo,

Callen

Easy Asian Slaw

Picture and recipe by: Callen Rhoads

I first found a similar asian slaw at Sam's club. It was all prepackaged and you just had to mix it all together.  After trying the prepacked slaw at Sam's, I decided to try and make my own. It seemed easy enough and it was so delicious! (I was seriously eating it every day for about two weeks! Ha!) That was about 6 months ago. Today I was at publix and started to crave it! Well, here is my version of easy asian slaw. I literally ate almost half of it for dinner tonight. Oops. ha ha.

BTW...this is a great healthy salad dish to bring to parties. Just thought I'd throw that in there! :)

Easy Asian Slaw

1 16oz package of shredded cabbage/coleslaw mix

1/4-1/2 cup Drew's Sesame Orange Dressing

(I found it by the natural dressings in Publix. However, Walmart has a store brand called, "Sesame Ginger Dressing" that is by the produce that is also Vegan).

1 Tbs Agave Syrup

(I used Raw Agave Syrup, but any kind will work. Omit this if using the walmart brand Sesame Ginger Dressing. It is sweet enough without the syrup)

1/2-1 cup La Choy Chow Mein Noodles

1/4 cup oven roasted sliced almonds

(I used the brand, "Almond Accents." They are by the produce too!)

Mix Together and Serve Immediately. It's that EASY!!!

If you want to prepare this overnight, make sure to omit the Chow Mein Noodles and Almonds and add those just before serving. :)

**If you noticed I didn't put exact measurements on most of the ingredients. That's because I just eye everything and taste as I go along so it's to my liking. I would suggest using the smaller amount first, then taste and add more if needed.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Acorn Squash (Picture and Recipe by: Callen Rhoads)

For this recipe I used the remainder of the rice from last nights simple veggies and wild rice recipe. I however, will give you the measurements so that you can make this recipe from scratch..in case you didn't make the simple veggies and rice from the night before!

This recipe is one that Jake and I both absolutely love. This is a hearty meal that can be used as a main dish or side. It is very filling, very scrumptious,  but again v e r y healthy!

This recipe feeds 4. One half a squash is for each person. If you are a bigger eater, you may want to get one squash for each person. Myself and Jake only ate half a squash each, but now we have left overs for tomorrow night! Yay!

Ingredients

(For squash)

2 acorn squash

2 tbs of vegan margarine

salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder to sprinkle on top

(For Rice)

vegetable broth

(amount varies according to directions on rice packaging)

1 cup of wild rice

1/2 package of shitake mushrooms, diced

1 tbs finely diced garlic

(For Vegetable Mixture)

2 tbs of olive oil

1 stalk of broccoli (finely chopped)  or 1 cup chopped

1 small carrot finely chopped

1/2 cup onion finely diced

1 cup of fresh chopped parsley

1/2 cup finely diced zuchini

1/8 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbs finely diced garlic

*diced tomato and parsley for garnish (optional)

For the Squash

To start, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Cut each Acorn Squash in half with a sharp knife. Be careful not to cut yourself and remember to use a cutting board.

I use a muffin tin instead of a cookie sheet to cook my squash. This way it is not rolling around and it cooks even.

Put 1/2 a Tbs of vegan margarine in the center of each squash half. I then sprinkled garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper on top.

Cook the squash for 30-40 minutes, or until tender with a fork.
Take the squash out of the oven, set aside, and let cool to the touch.


Put your squash in a muffin tin so it cooks evenly and doesn't roll around!
(Picture and idea by Callen Rhoads)

For the Rice:

1 cup of Lundberg's (or your favorite) wild rice. Cook the rice according to the package dircections. I put some diced up onion, garlic, and diced shitake mushroom in my rice for extra flavor. I also always use vegetable broth instead of water. To me, it tastes better. :)

For the Vegetable Mixture:

When the squash is done and cooling, heat a saute pan on medium high heat.

Add the olive oil and saute all the veggies (and garlic) at once until tender. Add the turmeric and pepper flakes while cooking.

Once the Rice is cooked add it to the vegetable mixture.

Once the squash is cool, scoop out all the squash, but be careful not to ruin the outer lining of the squash. The squash's shell will become a bowl to put the veggie/rice/squash mixture in.

Add the scooped out squash to the pan with the veggies and rice.  Mix together.

Fill each squash shell with the mixture.

You can garnish with parsley and tomato if you wish.

Enjoy!

All the Veggies in my recipes are from Rhoads Produce in Englewood, FL!

Make sure to visit our website and remember to like us on facebook!

Website: www.rhoadsproduceandchainsawart.com/

Facebook: Rhoads Produce

Simple Veggies and Wild Rice

Simple Veggies and Rice (Recipe and Photo by: Callen Rhoads)


This is a recipe that Jake asks for at least once a week. It's simple, easy, delicious, and healthy!

You can use whatever veggies you want to stir fry. I used whatever I had left over in the fridge. I made extra rice because I'm using half of it for the stuffed squash that I'm making tonight.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
2 TBS of Olive Oil
1 medium sweet onion ( half diced, half cut into thin slices)
1 red pepper
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium zuchini
1 carrot thinly sliced
4 cloves thinly diced garlic
1/2 bunch of broccoli
1 package shitake mushrooms, diced

vegetable broth (amount varies depending on how much rice you make)

salt, pepper to taste

1 cup wild rice, I use Lundberg's (picture below) 

Lundberg Wild Blend Rice (Available at most grocery stores)

For the Rice
**cook according to the package in a medium sauce pan with whatever desired amount of rice you'd like.

Half way through the cooking process, add the diced onion, mushroom, and 2 diced cloves of garlic.

For the Veggies

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan on medium heat. Add the remaining veggies to the pan.  Cook until tender. Add your desired amount of salt and pepper. You can also add other herbs if desired.


Let cool, plate, and enjoy! It's that easy!